Most Romance words for "frog" derive from Latin rana (e.g. es. rana, it. rana, pt. rã. See also va. renoc ("toad")).
However, an unexpected initial g- appears in the cognates of several Gallo-:
- fr. grenouille
- oc. granolha, granhòta
- ca. granota, granyota
and Italo-Romance languages:
- it. granocchia
- nap. granògna
- scn. giurana
The Trésor de la langue française suggests that this may be due to onomatopoeic influence (cf. it. gracidio), or a related Gaulish word:
avec un g- initial dû soit à l'infl. de mots qui imitent le cri de certains oiseaux (cf. lat. graculus ou gracillare), soit au croisement avec le gaul. craxaulus (Romania t. 44, p. 273; cf. aussi FEW t. 2, p. 1295b); cette explication séduisante ne peut convenir pour les formes ital. corresp. (cf. FEW t. 10, p. 60b);
Similar explanations are offered for the Catalan and Occitan cognates:1
La g- de granota, com la de grenouille, ha estat explicada com a producte d'analogia amb el crit d'aqueix animal (croasser, croailler, etc.) segons l'opinió de Schuchardt; en canvi altres lingüistes, com Jud (Rom. xiv, 273), veuen en la dita g un efecte de creuament de rana amb algun sinònim gàl·lic com crassantus.
However the initial g- of the Sicilian variant giurana/girana is soft, not hard like the other Italian/French/Catalan cognates.
What is the etymology of giurana?
Several hypotheses spring to mind:
- also onomatopoeic
- from the influence of it. girino ("tadpole")
- a loan from the Arabic جران (jrān) (itself from lat. rana).
- related to Asturian xaronca
1. None make note of the similarity with "toad" crapaud, grapaut, gripau (fr., oc., ca. resp.).
2. DAS: Perceptions, use & conservation of amphibians by indigenous people - Appendix 1: Vernacular names for frogs (and where available, toads and tree frogs) from around the world. (p.49-50)
